Department of Licensing

2002 Awards Announced

Each Fall the Washington State Department of Licensing awards
instructors and businesses and local organizations for their outstanding work during the year.

This year the DOL recognized an instructor, a business and
an organization.

The first award went to Bruce Thomas as the winner of the 2002
Washington Motorcycle Safety Program Instructor of the Year Award.

Thomas
was certified in April of 1997 in California. He transferred to Washington in
November of 2000 and very quickly attained his WMSP certification. The folks at
the Evergreen Safety Council, where he teaches, are impressed with Thomas’ ability to relate to his students and
ensure their learning. "His skill as a WMSP instructor has been
consistently outstanding in the two years he has worked in Washington. Bruce
goes well beyond what is normally expected of a WMSP instructor in all of his
classes. His students learn the necessary skills due to the clarity and
thoroughness of his classroom presentation and his ability to effectively coach
each exercise on the range. His demonstrations are always flawless, and his
patience in dealing with students who are having problems seems to be
boundless" said a spokesperson for ESC.

Thomas rarely counsels students out of his classes,
preferring to take the extra time to work with them to assist their learning and
help them complete the course. He is also said to work extremely well with new
instructors, and is currently participating in the Mentor Instructor training
program at Evergreen Motorcycle Safety Training.

When not teaching motorcycle skills, Thomas also serves as
the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest liaison to the WMSP ensuring close
cooperation and coordination between the two agencies.

Next in line for an award this year was Gervasi’s Cycle
Repair of Everett, receiving this year’s WMSP Outstanding Dealer of the Year
Award.

The staff at Gervasi’s is a consistent supporter of the
Washington Motorcycle Safety Program, and encourages all of their customers to
take a rider training course.

Although
not strictly a dealer, Gervasi’s is an independent service shop for most brands of motorcycles. The owner, Rick Gervasi, likes to personally ensure that
the customer service in his business is second to none. "Rick’s concern
for doing the best work possible, and his unique approach to motorcycle
maintenance allowed him to achieve something that no other mechanic to our
knowledge has ever been able to do. He personally conducted extensive research
into the problems experienced by the CB125TT training bikes. These bikes have a
nationwide reputation for not responding immediately when the throttle is
opened," commented one state motorcycle safety contractor. Using his vast knowledge and experience Rick Gervasi managed to correct
the problem. Word of this has spread throughout the country, and Evergreen
Safety Council regularly receives phone calls inquiring as to how the problem
was rectified on the training bikes.

Above: Spurgeon awards Rick Gervasi shopside

Gervasi’s likes to go beyond what is normally expected
of any motorcycle service facility. When one of ESC’s CB125TTs engines
destroyed itself, the Gervasi staff went to work and found a way to modify the
necessary components and install a CB250 engine in place of the original. This
"can do" attitude is rare at most shops and requires people to think outside
the box.

For the second year in a row the WA Roadriders
Association has received an award from the DOL for Outstanding Support to the
Washington State Motorcycle Safety Program.

Spurgeon emphasizes the role of the WRRA Membership in
passing vital Rider Education legislation this past session which helped speed
up the time it takes for a rider to get into an instruction class. Where
it used to be five months of waiting, it has been significantly streamlined
without additional cost to the state. He credited the WRRA's work as the
key to passage. He defined the WRRA's contribution as "above and beyond the
call" in reference to Rider Education issues.

Karen
Bolin of the WRRA gives credit to their membership and riders statewide for the
award and passage of last year's legislation. "Without the phone calls,
e-mails and letters going to Olympia, no legislation moves," Bolin
notes.

At Right: Karen Bolin of
the WRRA aside her airhead BMW

This marks the second year this particular DOL Award has
ever been given. The WRRA received this award in 2001 for its leadership in
protecting the MC Rider Education Account within the new transportation budget
structure.

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